Ukai attracts foreign tourists with unique and outstanding fishing method
Ukai, cormorant fishing in Gifu City
In Japan, tourism is expected as a leading industry in the coming years. The number of tourists visiting Japan has continued to increase since 2012.
Foreign tourists coming to Japan have outnumbered the Japanese tourists going overseas since 2015 and more than 31 million foreign tourists visited Japan in 2018.
The Chubu region, located in the center of Japan, has been attracting tourists with magnificent scenery such as Mt. Fuji, the highest in Japan and known as the national symbol and a mountain area called Japan Alps, a series of mountain ranges with 3,000 meters peaks.
In addition there are famous cities and towns in this region attracting tourists from around the world with their fascinating history and culture, such as Shirakawa-go, designated as a World Heritage Site in 1995 and Takayama City where the Edo era cityscape and long inherited culture still remain.
There are also many nice hot spring resorts here. Hotel industry in the area that have suffered from a decline in tourists amid economic downturn are also doing well recently with the surge of foreign tourists.
One of tourist attractions very popular to foreigners is Ukai in Gifu City.
This is a fishing method in which fishermen called Usho manipulate cormorants to catch fish in Nagara River flowing through Gifu City.
It has been continued for about 1300 years in Gifu. Ancient rulers such as Nobunaga Oda and Ieyasu Tokugawa who are famous warring lords have protected and developed Ukai. Every year a large number of tourists including foreigners visit Gifu City to see Ukai.
At present,
Usho is given the status as officials of Imperial Household Agency.
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